American Idol Round of 3: A Horseplayer's Perspective

[brianwspencer]

Jordin
1.) Sang "Wishing On A Star." I wasn't familiar with the song, but I really enjoyed what she did with it. I don't have anything to compare the arrangement to, but I thought she added a little funkiness into her performance and that is something we don't normally see from her -- that sort of just grooving with the music. As with almost all of her performances, she was vocally impeccable and the song really lent itself to going in many different vocal directions. A great way to kick off the night, with yet another score to reflect it. Score: 9.5

2.) Sang "Works Hard For The Money." I thought going into the performance that this was going to be a great song choice for her. I think that her youth and her lack of stage experience showed a little bit in that she was a little awkward onstage with an upbeat song like that...it seems like at times she doesn't really know what to do with herself while she's singing. The vocal, on the other hand, was once again great and was a great fit for her and she certainly nailed this song. Score: 9.0

3.) Sang "I Who Have Nothing." This was an incredible performance the first time she sang it, and if it were even possible for it to be better this time around, she pulled it off. This might be her best song from this season and she nailed this one just like she did the first time around. She somehow emotes real feeling in a song like that despite her inexperience. This was the song that really really made me fall in love with her officially, and she was incredible again. Score: 10.0

Final Score: 28.5 phone-in votes

Blake
1.) Sang "Roxanne." There was something about him tonight that really bothered me from the beginning to the end -- the intonation and phrasing was all a little bit strange throughout. I didn't find it to be a very solid performance for this stage of the competition and not the kind of performance that he really needs, being sort of on the outside looking in at this point. I thought the song choice was terrible (like because Paula was "not drinking") and it really came off poorly from start to finish. Score: 8.0

2.) Sang "This Love." I guess it's time to come clean and say that while there are weeks when I really still love his performances (read: Bon Jovi week), I'm just pretty much over him at this point. This song was a great fit for him because it doesn't have too many of those quiet, softer spots for him to get creepy but it also has some changes into that upper range which is his forte. A great choice by the producers, and I thought it was much better than his first performance tonight, but still a cut below the better efforts by the other two finalists. Plus, I'm just sick of his smarmy dancing and mugging for the camera and swiping his jacket aside. Score: 8.5

3.) Sang some stupid Robin Thicke song. I didn't enjoy this one very much either, on a personal note, but it wasn't bad per se. I am nervous because I think that his being the only guy left and his sort of inherent "coolness" advantage might keep him around into the finale when his performances don't merit being there when he's up against Jordin and Melinda. This one was another in a long line of performances by him that, I guess, just sound remarkably similar. His freshness and creativity is awesome in a competition like this, but that freshness has gone stagnant because it's the same thing in every performance and in every week. Another passable performance but not one that blew me out of the water by a longshot. Score: 8.0

Final Score: 24.5 phone-in votes

Melinda
1.) Sang "I Believe In You And Me." I thought the song was a little boring and breathy at the beginning and the middle, but the song let her redeem herself in the second half of it. While the judges loved her, I wouldn't even put it in my top five performances by Melinda this season. Of course, goes without saying, that the vocal was incredible even when singing Whitney -- but all in all, I found it to be a bit lacking what I normally love about Melinda. Score: 9.0

2.) Sang "Nutbush City Limits." All there is to say about this performance? It's about time. We've been hearing about the young Tina Turner from the get-go, and we've all seen it ourselves and have just been waiting for her to sing one for us. Positively amazing. That style suits her perfectly and it allows her to have that absolute star quality that she sometimes lacks. Flawless and entertaining all at once. Score: 10.0

3.) Sang "I'm A Woman." I liked this performance the best of hers up until this point. It seemed like she messed up a little bit at the beginning on the second line. She nailed the song again and I enjoyed another round of the sassiness in having the backup singers join her on the stage. It seemed to lack a little bit of the snarl she had the first time around with this performance (which might have been because of the early flub?), but she still came through and delivered a powerhouse performance...though far from her best one. Score: 9.0

Final Score: 28.0 phone-in votes